Mike London out at Virginia

Mike London is out as head football coach at the University of Virginia after six seasons at the helm of the University of Virginia Cavaliers.  During his time at the helm of the Cavaliers football program, he was 27-46.

Below is a chart of offense, defense and total production of the University of Virginia Cavaliers football program during London's tenure as head football coach, along with who would be the lowest ranked team during this time period (in purple) and the average team (sky blue).   As you may notice, the University of Virginia has actually been below average in terms of overall team production over coach London's tenure. All rankings in this blog come from my Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.  More details about the program under London are after the chart below, including his contract linked below.

Mike London (2010-2015)

2010
In London's first season as head football coach the University of Virginia Cavaliers finished the regular season at 4-8, playing against an "average" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS, meaning that Virginia was plus or minus one standard deviation between the "league's" average SOS.  The Cavaliers best game was a (24-19) victory over #36 ranked Miami (FL) and their worst regular season losses all came against #109 ranked Duke by a score of (48-55).  Overall, Virginia had the #85 ranked team with the #79 ranked offense and the #87 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.

2011
The Cavaliers finished the regular season at 8-4 and were bowl eligible. Virginia lost the Chick-fil-A  bowl to #85 ranked Auburn by a score of (24-43) to finish at 8-5.  This season the Cavaliers played against an "average" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS.  Their best regular season game was a victory (24-21) over #17 ranked Georgia Tech, their worst regular season loss was to #42 ranked North Carolina by a score of (14-28).  Overall, the Cavaliers had the #74 ranked team with the #83 ranked offense and the #57 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.

2012
Virginia finished the regular season overall at 4-8 and were bowl ineligible, while playing against an "average" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS.  The Cavaliers best game was a victory (17-16) over #34 ranked Penn State and their worst loss (10-16) was to #97 ranked Wake Forest.  Virginia had the #86 ranked team in total production with the #96 ranked offense and the #48 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.

2013
In terms of wins and losses, this was the low point in London's tenure at the healm of the football program, where Virginia finished the regular season at 2-10, playing against an "tougher" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS, meaning that Virginia was within one to two standard deviation's below the "league's" average SOS.  Their best games was at victory over #38 ranked BYU (19-16) and their worst loss was to #67 ranked Pittsburgh by a score of (3-14).  Overall, Virginia had the #110 ranked team with the #116 ranked offense and the #73 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.

2014 
The Cavaliers finished the regular season at 5-7 and were again bowl ineligible. This season the Panthers played again against a "tougher" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS.  This season the Cavaliers best game was a victory (23-21) over #19 ranked Louisville, their worst regular season loss was to #98 ranked North Carolina (27-28).  Overall, the Cavaliers had the #68 ranked team with the #93 ranked offense and the #23 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.

2015 
Virginia finished the regular season overall at 4-8, while playing against an "tougher" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS.  The Cavaliers best game was a victory (27-21) was over #63 ranked Georgia Tech and their worst loss (20-23) was to #74 ranked Virginia Tech.  Virginia had the #95 ranked team in total production with the #103 ranked offense and the #92 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.
 
2015 In Season NCAA FBS Head Coach Changes
University of Illinois and Tim Beckman
University of Maryland and Randy Edsall
University of North Texas and Dan McCarney 
University of Southern California and Steve Sarkisian 
University of South Carolina and Steve Spurrier 
University of Miami (FL) and Al Golden 
University of Central Florida and George O'Leary 
University of Minnesota and Jerry Kill 
University of Hawai'i and Norm Chow 
University of Louisiana-Monroe and Toddy Berry 
Iowa State University and Paul Rhoades 
Syracuse University and Scott Shafer 
Tulane University and Curtis Johnson

Tulane Fires Curtis Johnson

After much speculation, Curtis Johnson was fired as head football coach at Tulane.  This is a good time to look at the Tulane Green Wave under former head football coach Johnson's tenure since he was hired as head football coach in December 2011.

Below is a chart of offense, defense and total production of the University of Tulane Green Wave football program during Johnson's tenure as head football coach, along with who would be the lowest ranked team during this time period (in purple) and the average team (sky blue).   As you may notice, Tulane has been a below average football program overall for all four seasons of Johnson's tenure. All rankings in this blog come from my Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.  More details about the program under Johnson are after the chart below.

Curtis Johnson (2012 - 2015) as head football coach

2012  
The Green Wave finished the regular season again at 2-10 and were bowl ineligible. Tulane played an "average" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS, meaning that Tulane SOS was less than plus or minus one standard deviation of the league's average SOS.  Tulane's best game was a 27-26 victory over #57 ranked SMU and their worst loss was 20-24 to #105 ranked UTEP.  Overall, Tulane had the #121 ranked team with the #116 ranked offense and the #120 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.

2013
During head football coach Johnson's second year at the helm, Tulane finished the regular season at 7-5 and were bowl eligible, but lost to #52 ranked Lousiana-Lafayette 21-24, playing against an "average" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS.  Their best game was their victory over #18 ranked East Carolina 36-33 and their worst loss was to #74 ranked Syracuse 17-52.  Overall, Tulane had the #68 ranked team with the #97 ranked offense and the #14 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.  Unfortunately, the team was unable to improve as this was the best of the four seasons under head coach Johnson.
 
2014
Tulane finished the regular season at 5-7 and were bowl ineligible while playing against an "average" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS.  This season the Green Wave's best game was a victory over #12 ranked Memphis 38-7 and their worst loss was to #72 ranked Temple 3-10.  Overall, the Green Wave had the #99 ranked team with the #115 ranked offense and the #40 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.

2015
Tulane announced that head football coach Curtis Johnson would not return for the next season as the Green Wave finished 3-9 overall.  The Green Wave played against a "average" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS.  Tulane's best game was a victory was over #72 ranked Army and their worst loss was to #122 ranked SMU.  Tulane had the #106 ranked team in total production with the #109 ranked offense and the #88 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.  With numbers like those ...

2015 In Season NCAA FBS Head Coach Changes
University of Illinois and Tim Beckman
University of Maryland and Randy Edsall
University of North Texas and Dan McCarney 
University of Southern California and Steve Sarkisian 
University of South Carolina and Steve Spurrier 
University of Miami (FL) and Al Golden 
University of Central Florida and George O'Leary 
University of Minnesota and Jerry Kill 
University of Hawai'i and Norm Chow 
University of Louisiana-Monroe and Toddy Berry 
Iowa State University and Paul Rhoades 
Syracuse University and Scott Shafer

Syracuse Fires Head Football Coach Scott Shafer

Syracuse dismissed head football coach Scott Shafer after three years at the helm of the Orangemen football program.  So here is a look at the Syracuse University football program since 2008.  This time period covers Greg Robinson's last season as head football coach, all of Doug Marrone's tenure and all of Scott Shafer's time at the helm of the football program.

Below is a chart of offense, defense and total production by Syracuse since 2008 along with who would be the lowest ranked team during this time period (in purple) and the median team (sky blue).   As you may notice, Syracuse has been above average on  defense for much of this time period, but below average on offense (except for Marrone's last season in 2012). The rankings below come from my Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.  More details about the program are after the chart below.

Greg Robinson's last season at Syracuse

2008
Syracuse finished the 2008 regular season at 3-9 and were bowl ineligible.  The Orangemen played against a "much tougher" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average, meaning that their actual SOS was less than two standard deviations from the "league" average SOS, which is a rare occurrence.  Syracuse's best game was their 24-23 victory over #60 Notre Dame and their worst loss was 28-42 to #64 ranked Akron.  Overall, the Orangemen had the #110 most productive college football team with the #103 ranked offense and the #89 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.  With two games left in the regular season, Syracuse fired head football coach Robinson.

 Doug Marrone (2009 - 2012) as head football coach

2009
Under new head football coach Doug Marrone, the Orangemen finished the regular season at 4-8. Syracuse now played a "tougher" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS, meaning that Syracuse's SOS was between one and two standard deviations below the "league" average SOS.  The Orangemen best game was a 31-13 victory over #21 ranked Rutgers and their worst game was a 9-10 loss was to #103 ranked Louisville.  Overall, the Orangemen had the #93 ranked team in terms of total production with the #99 ranked offense and the #71 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.

2010
Syracuse finished with a 7-5 regular season (with two of their wins over FCS teams) and defeated #69 Kansas State 36-34 in their post-season bowl game to finish 8-5 overall.  Syracuse played an "average" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS, meaning that Syracuse's SOS was plus or minus one standard deviations from the "league" average SOS.  The Orangemen best game was a 19-14 victory over #15 ranked West Virginia and their worst game was a 20-41 loss to #87 ranked Washington.  Syracuse finished the season with the #49 ranked team in overall productivity and the #67 ranked offense and the #27 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.

2011  
The Orangemen finished the regular season at 5-7 and out of bowl eligibility.  Syracuse played an "average" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS.  The Orangemen best game was a 33-30 victory over #22 ranked Toledo and their worst game was a 20-33 loss was to #80 ranked Pitt.  Syracuse had the #75 ranked team in terms of total production with the #80 ranked offense and the #60 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.

2012  
The Orangemen finished the regular season again at 7-5 and defeated #63 ranked West Virginia 38-14 in the post season to finish 8-5 overall. Syracuse played an "average" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS.  Syracuse's best game was a 45-26 victory over #27 ranked Louisville and their worst loss was 10-17 to #90 ranked Minnesota.  Overall, Syracuse had the #30 ranked team with the #26 ranked offense and the #46 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.  At the end of the season, Doug Marrone left Syracuse for the head coaching position with the Buffalo Bills.


Scott Shafer (2013 - 2015) as head football coach
2013
The Scott Shafer era, Syracuse finished the regular season 6-6 and were bowl eligible defeating #71 ranked Minnesota 21-17.  The Orangemen played against an "average" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS.  Their best game was their victory over #65 ranked Maryland 20-3 and their worst loss was to #69 ranked Northwestern 27-48.  Overall, Syracuse had the #74 ranked team with the #83 ranked offense and the #55 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.
 
2014
Syracuse finished the regular season at 3-9.  Syracuse again played against an "average" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS.  This season the Orangemen best game was a victory over #59 ranked Central Michigan 40-3 and their worst loss was to #77 ranked Maryland 20-34.  Overall, the Orangemen had the #88 ranked team with the #119 ranked offense and the #17 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.

2015
Syracuse announced that head football coach Scott Shafer would not return for the next season and  the Orangemen finished 4-8 overall.  The Orangemen played against a "tougher" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS.  The Orangemen best game was a victory was over #42 ranked Boston College (at the end of their season) and their worst loss was to #95 ranked Virginia 38-44.  Syracuse had the #90 ranked team in total production with the #87 ranked offense and the #88 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.  With numbers like those ...

2015 In Season NCAA FBS Head Coach Changes
University of Illinois and Tim Beckman
University of Maryland and Randy Edsall
University of North Texas and Dan McCarney 
University of Southern California and Steve Sarkisian 
University of South Carolina and Steve Spurrier 
University of Miami (FL) and Al Golden 
University of Central Florida and George O'Leary 
University of Minnesota and Jerry Kill 
University of Hawai'i and Norm Chow 
University of Louisiana-Monroe and Toddy Berry 
Iowa State University and Paul Rhoades

2015 NCAA FBS Top 25 Ranking for Week 15

With the Army-Navy game in the books, here is the final regular season NCAA FBS top 25 for the 2015 season using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model using the data from www.cfbstats.com.  According to the Complex Invasion College Football production model Oklahoma is the most productive team in the FBS! The top 25 is listed below, with links to the previous weeks rankings at the bottom.

Rank	Team
1	Oklahoma
2	Appalachian State
3	Ohio State
4	Alabama
5	Western Kentucky
6	Florida State
7	Navy
8	Clemson
9	San Diego State
10	Mississippi
11	Iowa
12	Houston
13	Bowling Green
14	Georgia
15	Baylor
16	South Florida
17	Stanford
18	LSU
19	Wisconsin
20	Boise State
21	North Carolina
22	Michigan State
23	Toledo
24	Southern Mississippi
25	Louisiana Tech

Previous 2015 Top 25 Rankings
2015 Top 25 for Week #14
2015 Top 25 for Week #13
2015 Top 25 for Week #12
2015 Top 25 for Week #11
2015 Top 25 for Week #10
2015 Top 25 for Week #9
2015 Top 25 for Week #8
2015 Top 25 for Week #7
2015 Top 25 for Week #6
2015 Top 25 for Week #5
2015 Top 25 for Week #4
2015 Top 25 for Week #3
2015 Top 25 for Week #2

Ruffin McNeill Out at East Carolina

Ruffin McNeill is out as head football coach at East Carolina University.

Below is a chart of offense, defense and total production of the East Carolina Pirates football program during McNeill's tenure as head football coach, along with who would be the lowest ranked team during this time period (in purple) and the average team (sky blue).   East Carolina has been trending upward since 2010 except for last season under McNeill. All rankings in this blog come from my Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.  More details about the program under Ruffin McNeill are after the chart below.

Ruffin McNeill (2010-2015) [contract]

2010
During McNeill's first year at the helm of the Pirates football team, East Carolina finished the end of the regular season at 6-6 (and were bowl eligible) and lost to #28 Maryland (20-51) to finish 6-7 overall.  East Carolina played against a "tougher" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS, meaning that East Carolina was between one and two standard deviations lower of the "leagues" SOS.  The Pirates best win was over #26 ranked Tulas (51-49), and their worst loss was to #105 ranked Rice by a score of (38-62).  East Carolina had the #90 ranked team in total production with the #39 ranked offense and the #120 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.  In terms of overall production, this was McNeill's worst season while head football coach at East Carolina.

2011
At the end of the regular season the Pirates were 5-7 (and were bowl ineligible).  East Carolina played against an "average" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS, meaning that their SOS was plus or minus one standard deviation of the "leagues" average SOS.  The Pirates best victory was against #29 UCF (38-31) and their worst loss was to #97 ranked UTEP by a score of (17-22).  East Carolina had the #83 ranked team in total production with the #89 ranked offense and the #72 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.

2012
East Carolina finished the end of the regular season at 8-4 (and were bowl eligible) but lost to  #51 Louisana-Lafayette (34-43) to finish at 8-5.  East Carolina played against an "easier" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS, meaning that East Carolina was between one and two standard deviations higher than the "leagues" SOS.  The Pirates best win was over #67 ranked Marshall (65-59), and their worst loss was to #66 ranked Navy by a score of (28-56).  East Carolina had the #75 ranked team in total production with the #54 ranked offense and the #98 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.

2013
At the end of the regular season the Pirates were 9-3 (and were bowl eligible) and defeated #82 Ohio (37-20) to finish 10-3 overall.  East Carolina again played against an "easier" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS.  The Pirates best victory was against #40 Middle Tennessee State (24-17) and their worst loss was to #68 ranked Tulane by a score of (33-36).  East Carolina had the #18 ranked team in total production with the #24 ranked offense and the #23 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.

2014
In McNeill's fifth year, the Pirates had its best overall production during his tenure as head football coach.  The Pirates again finished the regular season at 8-4 and were bowl eligible, losing to #38 ranked Florida by a score of (20-28).  East Carolina played against an "easier" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS.  The Pirates best regular season game was a victory (28-21) over #56 ranked Virginia Tech, and their worst loss was to #79 ranked South Carolina by a score of (23-33).  Overall, the Pirates had the #14 ranked team with the #14 ranked offense and the #42 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.

2015
In what turned out to be McNeill's final season at the helm of the East Carolina football team, the Pirates finished the regular season overall at 5-7 making them bowl ineligible.  East Carolina played against an "average" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS.  The Pirates best game again was their victory over #71 ranked Virginia Tech (35-28), and their worst loss was to #80 ranked Connecticut (13-31).  East Carolina had the #59 ranked team in total production with the #68 ranked offense and the #49 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.